free bench
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.37 in modern English
19
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
1
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A married woman's entitlement to the use of her husband's lands or property after he dies; or the land and property itself considered as such an entitlement.
Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "In most manors, free-bench consists of one half of the husband's copyhold; although, in others, it consists of a third or fourth part, and in some few, of the whole copyhold."
- "The widow enjoyed the right of freebench, that is, of succession to a portion of her late husband's holding, ranging from a quarter to the whole, according to local manorial custom."
- "Some widows in Brigstock also probably sold free bench lands, despite the customary restriction on such sales."
Etymology
Word Breakdown
Usage
Inflected Forms
freebench (alternative)
free-bench (alternative)
Phrases
widow-bench
widow's bench
Frequently Paired Words
widow-bench
widow's bench